The findingds and dicussion chapter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8250 words

The findingds and dicussion chapter - Essay Example It is one of the most common developmental disorders. Autism in the recent years has shown an increasing profile, as regards acquiring a clear delineation and rising public awareness. This in turn has increased the importance of autism, both within the society, and especially within the realms of education systems. This paper gives an insight into the present educational support available for the autistic children, with a special focus on the special education programs for such students in Saudi Arabia. This paper also makes a review of the studies that explored the teachers' perspectives regarding the integrative model for students with autism. To achieve better results from the various special education programs and therapies, the general and special educators, the parents of children with autism, the policymakers, and other associated professionals should bear in mind the various critical peripherals of an effective educational program for the autistic children, within the present educational system of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Educational system for boys with autism in Saudi Arabia 1 Introduction 1 Background history â€Å"Autistic spectrum disorders are lifelong, complex, controversial, challenging to service providers, they can cause severe impairments and they are not uncommon† PHIS Report (2001, p.7) Autism is a form of developmental disorder that makes an appearance in an individual during the first 3 years of his life, and â€Å"affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills† (PubMedHealth, Autism, 2010). This  disorder, which is associated with impairment in neural development,  is characterized by faulty social and  communicating skills, and in the perceived stereotyped and restricted behaviours of a child. Autism influences the information processing within the  human brain that occurs due to the changes in the structure, organisation, and connection, of the nerve cells and the  synapses (Levy, Mandell, and Schultz,  2009, par. Neurobiology). Autism is a part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASDs) that includes three (sometimes five, if Rett and childhood disintegrative disorder are included) clinically recognised disorders. These are: Autism; Asperger syndrome that shows the same characteristics as Autism, but is less severe in the sense that the child shows no impairment in cognitive and language development; and  Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified  (or PDD-NOS). The PDD-NOS is diagnosed, after all the standard diagnoses tests for Autism and Asperger Syndrome have failed to meet the required criteria (Johnson, C., Scott M., and the Council on Children with Disabilities, 2007, 1183-1186). Autism can be defined as a disorder of the â€Å"affective contact, as an organic dysfunction of biological origin, and as a neurological or brain disorder† (Marwick, Dunlop and MacKay, 2005, 8). This disorder vitiates the functional abilities of a chil d to form